Thursday, March 17, 2011

Cubans vent frustrations as party congress nears

Cubans vent frustrations as party congress nears
10:49am EDT
By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cubans, speaking out in citizen meetings leading to a
Communist Party congress in April, have given officials an earful about
their economic worries and said the government must do a better job,
people close to the process said this week.

They said concerns about low salaries, high prices and cutting state
subsidies dominated discussions in the thousands of meetings held across
the country from December through February.

The government said more than 7 million people, out of a population of
11.2 million, participated.

"People are very preoccupied over rising prices, over the lack of
balance between wages and prices and over what will happen to the most
vulnerable, for example if the food ration is cut," said a Communist
Party member involved in compiling comments from the meetings.

A summary of the citizen input will be provided to the public before the
party congress, where 1,000 delegates will vote on proposed economic
reforms put forth by President Raul Castro, who is under pressure from
creditors over late debt payments and the population over economic
stagnation.

He wants to transform Cuba's social system from one based on collective
work and consumption to one where markets, individual initiative and
reward play larger roles and targeted welfare replaces cradle-to-grave
subsidized goods and services.

According to the proposals the state would pull back from some secondary
activities in favor of private initiative, stop directly administering
state-run companies and cede more power to local governments.

Hundreds of thousands of state jobs would be cut in favor of an
expanding "non-state" sector, while such things as subsidized utilities
and the monthly food ration would be eliminated to improve government
productivity and finances.

HOPE AND DREAD

Cubans appear to be looking to the congress with a mix of hope and dread.

Under changes already taking place, more than 113,000 people have taken
out licenses for self-employment and 100,000 leased fallow state land in
hopes of earning more money, but the state is also demanding more taxes
and giving fewer handouts.

"Me and my family feel much more squeezed than last year," said
pensioner Yolanda, who rents out a room to tourists in her Santiago de
Cuba home.

Yolanda said she supported Castro's reforms, but thought lower taxes and
more controls on rising prices were needed.

"I used to pay a monthly tax of $136 to rent my room and now I have to
pay $200," she said.

The public meetings also reflected changing sentiment about the
country's economic woes. Many people blamed the system, and not just the
U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, long accused of being the main culprit,
the sources said.

People repeatedly demanded the government improve its performance in
exchange for tightening their belts.

"Many people asked why, after repeatedly complaining about the waste
generated by its monopoly on food distribution, most produce was still
under its control and food rotting in fields and on trucks," said a
retired party official in Guantanamo, with knowledge of the discussion.

All in all, "the discussions generated an enormous amount of information
about how the people look at and understand the main problems facing the
country," said a party member in central Camaguey province. "And this
puts enormous pressure on the government to respond adequately."

It will not be easy, said Vicente Gonzalez, president of the Santiago de
Cuba Provincial Administrative Council, but "we have to carry out these
changes because the alternative is a debacle."

"If we are not capable of creating a sustainable country where we
produce what we need through hard work and sacrifice we will lose our
main achievements," he said, referring to free healthcare and education
provided to all Cubans.

(Editing by Jeff Franks and Mohammad Zargham)


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/17/us-cuba-congress-complaints-idUSTRE72G4LB20110317

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